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Resources by Topic: Behavioral health

Stem the Tide: Opioid Stewardship Measurement Implementation Guide
Identifies best practices for hospitals and health systems to use data to improve opioid stewardship. Addresses six elements that can support facilities through implementing a data-driven opioid stewardship program. Provides a list of quality improvement measures for hospitals and health systems to track progress. Highlights a consortium of providers serving rural communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin focused on access to treatment and interventions that address social determinants of health.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Improving Behavioral Health Screening & Access to Treatment for Veterans in Community Care
Describes a partnership between Veterans Rural Health Resource Center in Iowa City, Iowa; the Iowa Primary Care Association; and the Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa. Provides an overview of Phase I of the collaboration, which focused on implementing a new screening process at 4 rural FQHCs to properly identify all veterans seeking care. Discusses the broader impact of this initiative and next steps.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Community Health Centers of Southeastern Iowa, Iowa Primary Care Association, Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults: Opportunities for the Health Care System
Examines how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, with a focus on vulnerable populations, including those living in rural areas. Makes recommendations for clinical settings on screening for negative health impacts related to social isolation and developing interventions to help address this issue.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Committee on the Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Access to Autism Spectrum Disorder Services for Rural Appalachian Citizens
Summarizes the challenges of accessibility and affordability faced by residents of rural southwest Virginia as they seek services for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Highlights the effects of extreme poverty and the need for cultural sensitivity among service providers. Offers suggestions for policymakers and features demographic statistics on caregivers and providers.
Author(s): Angela Scarpa, Laura S. Jensen, Denis Gracanin, Sharon L. Ramey, Angela V. Dahiya
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 2(1), 25-40
Date: 2020
Type: Document
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Opportunities to Improve Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Services: Integrating Responses to a Dual Epidemic
Examines opioid use and drug-related infectious diseases. Identifies the barriers to integration of opioid use disorder (OUD) and infectious disease services, including barriers faced in rural areas such as workforce shortages. Offers strategies to overcome those barriers. Offers case studies of programs that have successfully integrated services, including programs serving rural areas. Includes policy recommendations.
Additional links: Read Online, Report Highlights
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Telehealth Decreases Rural Emergency Department Wait Times for Behavioral Health Patients in a Group of Critical Access Hospitals
Explores impacts of telehealth on behavioral health patients in rural emergency departments (EDs) at 4 Midwestern Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Compares wait time and length of stay (LOS) for 153 patients from 2005-2013 before telehealth implementation and 287 patents from 2015-2017 after telehealth implementation. Provides data on patient demographics, wait time, LOS, behavioral health diagnosis, and total costs of ED visit.
Author(s): Roseanne Moody Fairchild, Shiaw-Fen Ferng-Kuo, Stephanie Laws, Hicham Rahmouni, Daniel Hardesty
Citation: Telemedicine and e-Health, 25(12), 1154-1164
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
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Illinois Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center Task Force Report
Reports on the work of the Behavioral Health Workforce Education Center Task Force in Illinois that collected data, examined strategies, and received input from stakeholders from November 2018 to December 2019 in response to the 2018 declaration of an Illinois Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Emergency. The report covers workforce shortage data, evidence-based behavioral health interventions, and taskforce recommendations. Appendix C includes county-level data on behavioral workforce licensures as of 2019. Includes rural references throughout.
Author(s): Sharon Post
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Illinois General Assembly
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Engagement With Project ECHO to Increase Medication-Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care
Examines a study on the barriers and facilitators to implementing medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder between Project ECHO and rural primary care providers in New Mexico. Bases conclusions on post-ECHO intervention interviews with rural primary care providers and discusses external factors that could factor into the implementation of MAT.
Author(s): Julie Salvador, Snehal Bhatt, Rebecca Fowler, et al.
Citation: Psychiatric Services, 70(12), 1157-1160
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
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Washington's Behavioral Health Workforce: Barriers and Solutions - Phase I Report and Recommendations
Report details the barriers affecting the Washington State's behavioral health workforce and discusses potential policy solutions to address them. Includes recommendations based on current levels of workforce and access to care, as well as reciprocity agreements, among other barriers to address throughout the state.
Author(s): Julia G. O'Connor, Nova E. Gattman, Liz Coleman, et al.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
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The Rural Hospital Stabilization Program: A Comprehensive Report
Provides an overview of the first three years of the Rural Hospital Stabilization Grant Program for rural Georgia hospitals. Describes grant-funded projects and evaluates the sustainability of these projects after funding ceased. Includes a financial analysis of participating hospitals before and after receiving grant funds.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Georgia Department of Community Health, Georgia State Office of Rural Health
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